Kilimanjaro 2012: Day 2 Finding My Pace

I've never been a fan of sleeping bags, and the horrid combination of not being able to sleep in a new environment (even in a nice hotel on a nice bed) meant that I hardly caught any sleep all night. I guess it was also because of the excitement, looking ahead to the coming days ahead. 

The amazing porters

Our typical breakfast comprised of oatmeal, bread (there was jam, peanut butter and margarine), eggs, sausages and food. Our usual routine before breakfast was to make sure that we clear our tents before going for breakfast, so we have to pack everything away into the duffle bag and leave it out for the porters, and the tents would also be taken down and packed, ready for transportation to the next camp. It's amazing how efficient the porters are (we had 50 porters for the 19 of us). We would leave camp at least an hour before they do, and yet, they would've caught up with us after an hour (mind you, they do it with 20kg packs on their heads) and raced ahead of us so that camp can be set up by the time we arrive. Of course, they're more conditioned than we are, therefore they are able to work harder without feeling so much the effects of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or altitude sickness. But that being said, there's no doubting the seriously hard life that they have. I felt so sorry for a porter (from another group) who was throwing up at the side of the trail, presumably from the effects of AMS. While trekkers like us could afford to give up and turn back, he's dealing with his livelihood. Joseph (our guide) was telling me about how he started out as a porter (all the guides start out as porters, before moving up the ranks to being cooks/ kitchen hands or assistant guides, and then taking an exam to be certified as a guide), that because of the weight on his neck for the long period, he couldn't turn his head for some time. So whenever someone called him, he would have to move his whole body to look at the person. 

Today's trek was definitely harder than day 1, with plenty of ups and downs, as we made our way to Shira Camp at 3840m. It was pretty much a whole day of of different terrains, with rainforest vegetation giving away to shorter ones, and vegetation was also getting sparse as we encountered more rocks. Certain sections were narrow and winding, even needing a bit of scrambling. There's something about moving up and down, climbing over one peak after another, and it kind of got to us mentally as we started asking our guides how much further have we got. It really wasn't about the fatigue, I guess it's quite disorientating going up and down when we expect to the going up... I mean, we were supposed to be climbing a mountain. The fog that kept rolling in and out made the mood a little depressing for me as well. Guess I was missing the sun already. 


I was also careful of how my body might take the ups and downs, always worried that my body might start breaking down soon. While following Swee Chiow, he gave me a very good piece of advice that I reckoned helped me through the trip: if you find yourself breathing too hard, you probably are working too hard. He also explained that the reason why older climbers fare better is because they are able to breathe rhythmically. So whenever I found myself breathing harder, I'd take a quick look at my heart rate monitor and if it was indeed higher than 140bpm (that was the threshold that I'd set for myself because any lower than 140bpm, I felt very comfortable. If you wish to try my method, I'd advise that you find out the "magic number" that works for you), I'd tell myself "pole pole", and slowed my pace down CONSIDERABLY, and practically dragged my feet along just to make sure that work as lazily as possible (my rational was that I wanted to use as few muscles as possible). It was a tactic that worked really well for me all the way up, and it's something that I will keep using for my future climbs.

White-necked raven

We took a longer break on a plateau, where we got acquainted to the local fauna, namely the four-striped grass mouse and the white necked raven. These guys are really contrasting on the cute factor: the mice were scampering around, hoping for food to fall for them, but shy as can be, while the ravens were in your face, sometimes coming so close that I reckoned that it was going to snatch the food right out of our hands. They stand at 50-54cm with a weight of almost 900g!! Check out the beak on that face that only a mother would love. 


Thankfully, just as the sun appeared, we caught sight of our camp. We were really pleased with the short day, finishing about 5 hours after starting. The camp was set up on a flat expanse of desert like land, and the first thing we noticed was that it was VERY windy and there were so many ravens hanging around. A couple of the students decided to take advantage of the sunny day to sun their clothes on the rocks, while keeping a weary eye out for the ravens that were hanging around. While they didn't have an appetite for socks, we did see the ravens tear up a plastic bag and eat it up. 

Lunch was macaroni with minced beef, and it was such a welcomed meal! Not only were carbohydrates essential to replenish our body's fuel system, but being a meat lover like myself, I was grateful for a nice hot meal like that. Plus, with the early end to the day, I was grateful that I could rest up, pack up bags, and catch a nap to make up for my lack of sleep at night. 

Shira Camp, with magnificent view of Cathedral Rocks

One thing I noticed was that a number of students were lagging behind and weren't back in camp even after we'd finished lunch. When they returned, I found that they were either suffering from fatigue or nausea (some even vomited), all of which are primary symptoms of altitude sickness. We were particularly concerned about one student who hadn't really managed to keep any fluids down. In the evening, Swee Chiow passed out the oximeter which measured our heart rate and the amount of oxygen in our red blood cells. Most of us were in the range of 80-90%, which was normal at altitude, but we were concerned about the student whose reading had dropped to 66%. Swee Chiow gave him a Diamox and his oxygen saturation raised to 88%. But the point of concern was that he still wasn't holding down any fluids, and didn't have any dinner either. We huddled together and decided that we would wait until the morning to see if his condition would improve further. However, just before dinner, the student came to us to tell us that he wasn't feeling any better and wanted to get off the mountain. It was probably the best decision for him because any further up, evacuating him would've require greater logistics (via helicopter) as it was the last camp where evacuation by road would be possible. 


While his gear was being packed up, Paul (our local chief guide) administered oxygen, and some of the local guides were summoned to help with the evacuation. Swee Chiow, myself and my colleague set off with the local guides who were holding on to the student as they skilfully maneuvered him quickly over the rocks to get to the ranger station on a very blustery night, with just the headlamps for illumination. Following the local guides, I was full of admiration of the skills of the guides. When we returned to the hotel after the 7 days and I managed to speak to the student, I asked him if he was exerting much effort and he said that he felt as if he was floating along as the guides helped him along. Seeing how dehydrated the student was that night, it was really worrying, but he was still lucid as he was still able to laugh at a lame joke that I made. 


After the student was evacuated and sent off to the hospital in Moshi for observation, we were joking on the way back that we were having our rehearsal for the summit attempt. And to be honest, it was really a rehearsal for me as I eventually used the same kit for the summit attempt. I had a chance to experience the blustery cold wind which was to be expected on summit day, and I was pleased to find that I was well protected. By the time we got back to camp, it was almost 2am and I was really tired (mentally) and I collapsed into my tent, mindful of the demands of the following day: the high climb to Lava Tower (4630m) for acclimatisation, and then descending down to Barranco Camp to sleep low. It was going to be a long day.

Here's my readings for the day:

Total calories used: 4935calories
Max heart rate: 145bpm
Average heart rate: 128bpm